Babies on Solids from 3 months sleep better

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'Babies given solid food sooner sleep better' www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-44723638

Interesting research just published . Made me smile. Had my babies a looooong time ago when this was the norm..

All slept like logs.
If you wait longer enough , everything goes round in a loop.

Babies on formula also sleep better generally. Just because something makes them sleep better it doesn't change the fact its not as good for them health wise.

20 years ago I was told by a paediatrician to wean at six weeks as it would "cure" reflux. It wasn't called reflux then though.
I didn't.

My baby didn't touch a drop of solid food til 6 months and slept right through from about 12 weeks. Total bs.

Lots of things might make babies sleep better, but it doesn't mean it's good for their long term well-being.

Ps @BounceAndClimb how judgey re formula 🙄

Actually there’s no evidence that formula fed Babies sleep better.

Laudanum also made them sleep better.

Hmmmm, I don't know if babies can sleep 'better'- they're babies. They're not meant to sleep well. If 'better' in this case means a baby sleeps through then it might indicate something is wrong rather than everything is fine.

Interesting research though.

Weaning too early is not recommended due to it being proven to be bad for their stomach, heart and immune system.
Had this discussion with my hv last week due to inlaws telling me i should wean at 4 months, she assured me 6 months is best for babys health... this surely means more than them sleeping through.

My understanding is that babies that were formula feed slept for longer periods of time as it took their bodies longer to digest the milk due to the ingredients but also the volume of formula given is often far bigger than babies stomach is naturally so they wake less often use to hunger. It's likely the same would apply to a baby if they ate solids.

But just because we would like babies to sleep for longer periods of time doesn't mean it's good for them.

dwangela - but breast milk is better isn't it? Not sure why that's judgey. People are so touchy!

Wtf is this obsession with sleeping through from the earliest day possible?

I have a 2 week old - I ain’t getting any sleep anytime soon and tbh, when I got pregnant I understood this.

‘Back in the day’ my mum was told to put whiskey on my dummy to help me sleep during teething episodes..

DD started on solids at 14 weeks - the advice at the time was 16 weeks. She woke for a night feed from about 5 weeks but her early morning feed was getting earlier and earlier until it was basically 2 night feeds. Starting to wean her meant that she slept through again.

There's nothing wrong with DD's stomach, heart or immune system. Nor mine, and as a 70s baby I was started on solids at 12 weeks like the rest of my peers!

I'm a bit bemused at the idea that babies aren't meant to sleep well and that if they do there's something wrong.

An average of 15 minutes a night 'better'

Hmmm whisky on the dummy ! I loved that.. babies loved it too ..

The article says those on solids had 1.74 feeds a night on average compared to 2, so doesn't say they were sleeping through anyway! My mum followed the late 80s advice with my brother, weaning at 3-4 months, and he didn't sleep through until 2.5 years. It is not a miracle cure for 12 hours sleep sadly, just improves things a bit on average.

My Dsis had her first solids at 9 weeks and is still a terrible sleeper 😁

But seriously. I just thought this was interesting because all mine were weaned at 12 Weeks (3)..

As it was the advice at the time.
And yes they all slept better. For those of you saying 'who expects a baby to sleep all night ' ? Well all I can say to that is - that when you work full time - getting up twice a night was no fun.. and I for one was bloody pleased when they went to sleep at 7:30 and woke up at 6.. am. ! Instead of 2. & 4:30 am .

Sure it’s easier having a sleeping baby, but their digestive systems aren’t made to process solids at that age really. Just because they can doesn’t mean they should

My youngest baby was EBF and didn't wean until 6m. He did his nights from 5wks... All babies are different.

DS1 was born at the time when people started to wean at three months. He was breastfed. He absolutely didn't sleep any better after weaning. Unfortunately.

By the time I had DS2 the advice had changed to four months. Also breastfed. Did he sleep better after starting weaning? Sadly not.

Not sure an average of 15 minutes a night more is worth risking their future health for. But at the end of the day, articles like this make fuck all difference. Some people will follow current guidelines based on peer reviewed, scientific research (that isn't funded by formula/baby food companies). And others will do what their Mum/Auntie/neighbour did 'because it never did you any harm'.

Weaning too early is not recommended due to it being proven to be bad for their stomach, heart and immune system.

No, the only potential downside of weaning between 17 and 26 weeks is the risk of minor diarrhoea. There is also emerging (albeit inconclusive) evidence that early weaning reduces risk of allergies later in life.

I have not seen any "peer reviewed scientific research" that weaning after 17 weeks introduces any risk to children's future health (and I have read a lot on the topic). In fact, my personal expectation is that the guidelines will eventually change back to "4-6 months" once the allergy reducing effect of early weaning is confirmed. There is currently a study underway in Norway but its preliminary results will only be available in 2020.

Lots of countries recommend weaning between 17 and 26 weeks. I think that in time the uk will revise its recommendations and go with 17-26 weeks.